US state governments are under the federal government, so a US state is not a sovereign state, so it seems pretty clear to me that the governor of a US state does not count.
Also Bill Clinton (once before and once after his White House years); U.S. Sens. John Kerry, Sherrod Brown, Cory Booker, Chuck Schumer, Paul Simon and Al Gore; Members of Congress Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Dick Gephardt, Doug Applegate, Shontel Brown, Marcia Fudge and Marcy Kaptur; and Gov. Mike Dukakis and two governors of Ohio, Dick Celeste and Ted Strickland.
I’ve been part of the security detail for the president 3 times. Twice for Obama and once for Bush. I saw Obama get off of the helicopter once and the other times I just saw the motorcade. During the Bush detail someone threw a shoe at him but that was after my part was done.
Wait, so Governors count, or they don’t? If they count, then multiple times in person.
I didn’t count this, but we were in a hotel meeting ballroom in Santiago when a crowd of beefy men appeared in the conference area lobby, and then Michelle Bachelet (Chilean President at the time) and her entourage swept into the room next to ours to give a speech. I thought that was pretty cool.
I met Bush the Elder while he was still vice president, and after he left office(Babs too); Bush the Younger while he was still governor, and Biden while he was a senator.
Decent conversations with each of the Bushes on a few occasions(I met Millie once!). The only time I saw Biden was while he was a Senator, and he was just another guy on a commuter train that I thought looked familiar(I didn’t live in Delaware), and asked if he was that guy before I got off at my stop.
My husband and I met the Governor of the Virgin Islands while on our honeymoon. We had gotten lost on St Croix and couldn’t find our way back to our hotel. While circling Christiansted for the third time, we stopped a man to ask for directions. He told us to pull over for a moment and he’d be right back. We pulled over and waited while he went over and chatted with the police. A moment later he came back, told us that the policeman would escort us back to our hotel, “And by the way, I’m the Governor.” We smiled, thought “sure you are”, shook his hand, and followed to cops all the way back to our place on the other side of the island. When we got back I looked him up and damned if it wasn’t really the Governor! Hizzoner Albert Bryan, Jr of USVI. It may not count but it’s still a cool story.
Oh, I’ve been within sight and hearing of a Pope. Long time ago. He was speaking in Italian, though, so I don’t know what he said. (He was making what was apparently a routine occasional speech from a balcony overlooking a big square full of people. My mother and I happened to be in town and went, mostly just because we were there.)
If I had written the “wear a suit” poll, I would have made “never” and “almost never” separate options. Some of us (including myself) own one or more suits that we could and would wear if the occasion warranted, but such occasions arise less often than “a few times a year.” Others don’t own a suit (at least, one that still fits) and/or are temperamentally opposed to wearing one.
Agree. Five or so years ago I threw out my two suits. I do not own a suit, nor do I plan to ever buy a suit. It has worked well for me so far. My son was married on the beach in Florida, so I had no need for a suit. My daughter eloped and got married during COVID, no suit needed for that either.
The only suit I own is a “wedding and funeral” suit that, fortunately, I haven’t had to use in a couple of years.
I do occasionally wear a blazer or sports jacket to church on Christmas and Easter and whenever the weather is cold enough for it, which amounts to maybe five Sundays per year.
I took advantage of a Men’s Wearhouse two-fer deal back in the mid aughts or so. I’ve worn them to a handful of family weddings and some job interviews when I was unemployed. I still own both suits, but I don’t think I’ve worn either of them in at least a decade.